This invention relates generally to an imprinting machine and, more particularly, to a data recorder for recording credit transactions from a printing plate such as a credit card onto a form positioned thereover.
In recent years, business transactions have come to include large volumes of credit buying. Hundreds or even thousands of credit transactions are recorded in numerous businesses in a single day. In a typical credit transaction, source recording devices are used to record on a form the customer name and account number from a removable credit card as well as additional fixed and variable data such as the establishment's name and address as well as the date and amount of the transaction.
The imprinted account number and outer data is in a format and type style suited to be read by optical character recognition (OCR) equipment at a central billing center where the credit transaction data is processed, customers are billed and the businesses credited.
In order to ensure error-free reading by the OCR equipment and thus, correct debiting and crediting, the imprinted data must not only itself be sharp and clear but the areas adjacent thereto must be as free as possible from smudges or other miscellaneous marks which the OCR equipment may attempt to read. Such smudging is often caused by imprinting devices of the prior art as the reciprocating roller platen thereof drops off of the data (such as the customer account number) embossed on the card as raised printing elements to the surface of the card during or at the completion of the imprinting stroke. A typical imprinter where this may occur is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,820.
Thus, it is one of the principle objects of this invention to provide a novel device which is capable of clear, sharp and smudge-free imprinting of forms with data from a credit card or other embossed source.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device capable of double stroke imprinting which results in equivalent or better carbon transfer with less force on the type thus giving better impressions and longer credit card life.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a unique, reciprocating roller platen assembly for an imprinting device wherein the print rollers are contained in a removable cartridge which enables them to be replaced without getting ink on the fingers of the user.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a roller platen assembly utilizing a plurality of platen rollers which enables the imprinting stroke to be considerably shorter which, in turn, means that any length of impression can be accommodated with a compact driving mechanism making the overall machine small, compact, and economical.
It is still another object to provide an imprinter with means for unlocking the head to remove the credit card and form in the event of electrical failure or other malfunction during the imprinting cycle.
It is another object to provide an imprinter with means to return the roller platen assembly to its home position whenever the head is opened in the middle of an imprinting cycle.
It is also an object to provide an imprinter with means for preventing the operation thereof if the data source and/or form to be imprinted is too thick.
Other objects, features, and advantages will appear hereinafter as the description proceeds.